Ringling Bros. returning to Southwest Florida

Published: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 3:43 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 3:43 p.m.

Virginia Haley is doing a "little happy dance" over the news that Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus is returning to Southwest Florida.

Ringling's $20 million plan to buy and renovate a manufacturing plant and 47-acre tract in Ellenton reinvigorates the region's connection to its nearly 100-year-old circus legacy, said Haley, the president of the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"It is that thing that makes our area really unique," Haley said. "Not a lot of places have that circus heritage. So, to have more of the business of the circus located in the area becomes really important."

The site on the north shore of the Manatee River will become the global production center for Feld Entertainment Inc., Ringling's parent company that also produces Disney on Ice, Disney Live, Monster Jam and Feld Motor Sports productions.

Haley noted that her office recently launched a circus-themed promotion for travel professionals.

"We're following Ringling around to promote the circus ties to Sarasota at performances. We had a great response at our first event in Miami," she said.

Another is scheduled in Atlanta next month.

It is difficult to overstate the Ringling impact on the region, which developed into an arts and culture destination because of the number of visual and performing artists who initially came to work with the circus when John Ringling moved the winter quarters to Sarasota in 1927.

Ringling built a mansion along Sarasota Bay and a museum to hold his vast art collection that was turned over to the state after his death. He also became actively involved in real estate and land development.

"This really solidifies the area as the epicenter of the American circus of past and present as we look at the generations of circus performers who have their families here," said Deborah Walk, Tibbals curator of the Circus Museum at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. "It's a great statement, as they say, to have the big one home."

The museum recently expanded its Tibbals Learning Circus to include hands-on, interactive circus activities for visitors. Some of the material was donated by Feld Entertainment, Walk said.

Ringling Bros. moved its winter quarters to Venice in 1959 and stayed there until the railroad tracks that were needed to move the operations could no longer support Ringling's train cars. In 1990, Ringling began setting up its winter operations at the Florida Fairgrounds in Tampa.

It also operated the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Clown College at the Venice Arena from 1968 to 1993, when operations moved for three years to Baraboo, Wis., where the Ringling Bros. operation was founded in 1884. Clown College moved to the Sarasota Opera House for two years before the program was suspended.

Pedro Reis, a former Ringling performer and the founder of Circus Sarasota (which now also operates the Sailor Circus youth program), said the company's move to Ellenton could provide some economic benefit for the region.

"Anytime anyone brings in jobs to the area, it's fantastic," Reis said. "But are these all people moving to this area or being hired from this area?"

The Washington Post reported that Feld Entertainment will move as many as 190 jobs from its Vienna, Va., headquarters to Florida during the next five years.

Reis also wonders if the area is not already saturated with circus productions and operations.

"We've got Sailor Circus and Circus Sarasota, the Shrine Circus performs around Easter. We do have a lot of circus. I have no idea if their intentions are to perform here or not," he said.

Ringling has competed directly with Circus Sarasota with a short-lived tent show that it called Kaleidoscape and with small arena shows that overlapped with Circus Sarasota's winter performances.

The years of history "make it hard to think of Sarasota without thinking of the name of Ringling," said Jim Shirley, executive director of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota, and the former executive director of Sailor Circus. "John Ringling and his family had a huge commitment to the arts, and that's a big part of why this community has the type of recognition that we do today in the arts."

Even though the Feld headquarters will be in Manatee County, which provided tax incentives for the move, Haley said it is a boost for both counties.

"We really are a region and we work together frequently with our colleagues in Manatee. In fact, we're going to be sending them a supply of clown noses."

<p>Virginia Haley is doing a "little happy dance" over the news that Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus is returning to Southwest Florida.</p><p>Ringling's $20 million plan to buy and renovate a manufacturing plant and 47-acre tract in Ellenton reinvigorates the region's connection to its nearly 100-year-old circus legacy, said Haley, the president of the Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau.</p><p>"It is that thing that makes our area really unique," Haley said. "Not a lot of places have that circus heritage. So, to have more of the business of the circus located in the area becomes really important."</p><p>The site on the north shore of the Manatee River will become the global production center for Feld Entertainment Inc., Ringling's parent company that also produces Disney on Ice, Disney Live, Monster Jam and Feld Motor Sports productions.</p><p>Haley noted that her office recently launched a circus-themed promotion for travel professionals.</p><p>"We're following Ringling around to promote the circus ties to Sarasota at performances. We had a great response at our first event in Miami," she said.</p><p>Another is scheduled in Atlanta next month.</p><p>It is difficult to overstate the Ringling impact on the region, which developed into an arts and culture destination because of the number of visual and performing artists who initially came to work with the circus when John Ringling moved the winter quarters to Sarasota in 1927.</p><p>Ringling built a mansion along Sarasota Bay and a museum to hold his vast art collection that was turned over to the state after his death. He also became actively involved in real estate and land development.</p><p>"This really solidifies the area as the epicenter of the American circus of past and present as we look at the generations of circus performers who have their families here," said Deborah Walk, Tibbals curator of the Circus Museum at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. "It's a great statement, as they say, to have the big one home."</p><p>The museum recently expanded its Tibbals Learning Circus to include hands-on, interactive circus activities for visitors. Some of the material was donated by Feld Entertainment, Walk said.</p><p>Ringling Bros. moved its winter quarters to Venice in 1959 and stayed there until the railroad tracks that were needed to move the operations could no longer support Ringling's train cars. In 1990, Ringling began setting up its winter operations at the Florida Fairgrounds in Tampa.</p><p>It also operated the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Clown College at the Venice Arena from 1968 to 1993, when operations moved for three years to Baraboo, Wis., where the Ringling Bros. operation was founded in 1884. Clown College moved to the Sarasota Opera House for two years before the program was suspended.</p><p>Pedro Reis, a former Ringling performer and the founder of Circus Sarasota (which now also operates the Sailor Circus youth program), said the company's move to Ellenton could provide some economic benefit for the region.</p><p>"Anytime anyone brings in jobs to the area, it's fantastic," Reis said. "But are these all people moving to this area or being hired from this area?"</p><p>The Washington Post reported that Feld Entertainment will move as many as 190 jobs from its Vienna, Va., headquarters to Florida during the next five years.</p><p>Reis also wonders if the area is not already saturated with circus productions and operations.</p><p>"We've got Sailor Circus and Circus Sarasota, the Shrine Circus performs around Easter. We do have a lot of circus. I have no idea if their intentions are to perform here or not," he said.</p><p>Ringling has competed directly with Circus Sarasota with a short-lived tent show that it called Kaleidoscape and with small arena shows that overlapped with Circus Sarasota's winter performances.</p><p>The years of history "make it hard to think of Sarasota without thinking of the name of Ringling," said Jim Shirley, executive director of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota, and the former executive director of Sailor Circus. "John Ringling and his family had a huge commitment to the arts, and that's a big part of why this community has the type of recognition that we do today in the arts."</p><p>Even though the Feld headquarters will be in Manatee County, which provided tax incentives for the move, Haley said it is a boost for both counties.</p><p>"We really are a region and we work together frequently with our colleagues in Manatee. In fact, we're going to be sending them a supply of clown noses."</p>